Life and life of people in the steppe. Steppes in the history of mankind

Now the anthropogenic landscape has changed the appearance of nature and, in many ways, microclimates. That European steppe, located in the zone between 52 and 48 ° northern latitude, which will be discussed below, no longer exists, but unlike the Golden Horde, the steppe cenosis was studied in detail by biologists, and in general outline presented
Its features are not difficult to figure out.

It was no coincidence that only nomads, but not farmers, lived in the steppe in ancient times and the Middle Ages. It is no coincidence that in the Middle Ages the Great Steppe before the Golden Horde was not a country of cities. The climate of the Eurasian steppes is harsh and poorly suited not only for agriculture, but also for human life.
The steppe is characterized by seasonal and daily temperature contrasts with strong overheating of the earth in summer and sharp cooling in winter, and a large daily difference in day and night temperatures. “The steppe climate differs from the climate of other landscape zones primarily in its striking inconstancy,” writes Vyacheslav Mordkovich, “Life between drought and flood, heat and cold is the usual state of steppe-type ecosystems. Climatic contrasts are also manifested by alternating frosty days and thaws in winter, sudden cold snaps in summer, or the same unexpected warming (up to 30°C) in early spring in April, when the snow has not yet completely melted.” In summer, the “cold shower” gives way to sweltering heat and drought. “Even in the middle of summer there are cold snaps like in the tundra. The average daily air temperature in July can suddenly drop from 30 to 7°C... It only takes 2-3 hours for the surface temperature of the steppe soil to jump from 16 to 42°C. The daily range of air temperatures in the steppe reaches 31°C even in the middle of summer” (The Fate of the Steppes, pp. 129, 140, 142).
Almost all falling atmospheric moisture (80%) in the steppe occurs in summer months, and extremely unevenly: in June-July from Moldova to the Don there is drought. From the third ten days of September, all Eurasian steppes are immersed in hibernation either due to lack of heat, or water, or both. Sometimes all the moisture can fall in one big summer shower and quickly evaporate due to the heat, and the rest of the time there is dryness, because of which trees do not grow in the steppe, there is little succulent herbs and people's tongues dry out in their mouths. Plants can use no more than one fifth of the moisture that falls in the steppe. Severe droughts recur in the steppe every 3-4 years. It is no coincidence that the agriculture of the nomads was reduced to spring sowing and leaving the field, returning to it only in the fall, collecting a meager harvest, if there was any.
The steppe climate of our continent is determined by the region high pressure, which stretches in a narrow tongue to the west from the Siberian anticyclone, passing along a conditional line connecting the cities of Kyzyl - Uralsk - Saratov - Kharkov - Chisinau - Sekeshfe-
hervar. This conventional line is called the Great Climatic Axis of Eurasia. The axis serves as a wind divide on the mainland. In winter, to the north of it, where the forest-steppe and forest zone is located, where farmers lived in the Middle Ages, warm winds blow from the west and southwest, carrying precipitation. To the south, where the steppes, semi-deserts and deserts are located, where dry and cold northeastern and easterly winds, in the Middle Ages only nomads lived.
“The narrow tongue from the area of ​​​​high atmospheric pressure and the steppe, closely associated with this peculiar climatic phenomenon, pierces Europe like a cold blade. In countries with a mild climate, lush, vibrant landscapes and comfortable human life, the steppes allow frosts, droughts, plant and animal species that can endure harsh external conditions, and in the VII-XII centuries. - armies of nomads,” writes Vyacheslav Mordkovich.
The direction of the winds is dictated by the movement of air flows in anticyclones clockwise, from the center, where Atmosphere pressure high, to the outskirts, where it is lower. In January, a strong pressure difference between the Atlantic and Siberia creates a powerful air draft from the center of Asia to Atlantic Ocean. This frosty “draft” chooses its path between hills and mountains along flat, low spaces.
Territories north of the Great Climatic Axis of Eurasia receive more precipitation in winter than those south of it. Deep snow cover protects the soil from excessive freezing. In spring there is not only a lot of water, but the peculiarity of the flood is that the water does not immediately run into the rivers, but gradually seeps into the soil, moistening it. To the south of the Great Climatic Axis of Eurasia, water quickly evaporates in the spring, without having time to seep into the frozen soil. The steppes receive no less water than forest ecosystems in the spring when the snow melts, and in the summer from heavy rains. However, the period of abundant moisture in the steppes is quickly replaced by drought (The Fate of the Steppes, pp. 27-28, 30, 33 - 35).
We can say that life in the steppe depends on water. As Igor Ivanov clearly stated in a special report at the seminar “Man and Nature - Problems of Socio-Natural History”, the richness of species and the intensity of life of the steppe throughout its history - from the Pleistocene to the Holocene - was determined not so much by cooling and warming and the thickness of the humus layer, but by the level of moisture (see also Ivanov 1997-1). It is no coincidence that the steppe cities of the Golden Horde grew up on rivers.

The steppe biocenosis is designed in such a way as to preserve moisture and phytomass as much as possible during dry periods. Stanislav Mordkovich and Sergei Balandin write the following about the structure of soils and the life activity of plants and animals in this direction.
Mordkovich: “A typical profile of mature chernozem looks like this. A three- to four-centimeter layer of steppe felt lies on the surface. Its basis is formed by dead, but not yet decomposed, above-ground parts of steppe plants... Under the steppe felt there is turf - a horizon 3-7 cm thick, densely permeated with living and dead roots... It is very dense and elastic, like a trampoline. It is difficult for even a very strong digger to break through it with a shovel. When plowed, the turf horizon is completely destroyed... Below the turf follows the actual black humus horizon with a thickness of 35 to 130 cm.”
Balandin: “Moderate human intervention, be it grazing or mowing for hay, leads to prosperity plant communities" Steppe felt (litter) reduces evaporation and improves water regime upper soil horizons. “Steppe felt inhibits the development of turf grasses, and at the same time promotes the settlement and growth of rhizomatous grasses. In conditions of weakened competition from turf grasses, there is an opportunity for the development of shrubs and even some tree species. In addition, steppe felt retains the seeds of fruit-bearing plants, which literally “hang” in its thickness and, not reaching the soil, die... Under natural conditions, the accumulation of a thick layer of litter is prevented by the consumption of part of the plants by numerous animal phytophages and occasional steppe fires caused by lightning strikes . ... The litter is constantly being disturbed, broken by hooves. At the same time, the seeds of many plants have the opportunity to penetrate the soil; some of them are simply trampled into the ground, which greatly facilitates their germination... Before human settlement of the Eurasian steppes, herds of saigas and wild horses- tarpanov... In addition, rodents, as well as some insects, contributed.”
Mordkovich: “Continuous migrations - necessary condition survival of a large animal in a steppe-type landscape... Prairies and steppes cannot be completely eaten by ungulates,
thanks to their continuous movements. On the move, herbivores do not have time to eat all the grass at once, but only bite off the tops of the plants...
Migrations do not occur chaotically, but in accordance with the main vectors of environmental conditions in the steppe landscape zone, i.e. from north to south and back, or in the direction from west to east. Heavy snowfall in the north in winter steppe zone make dry grass (rags), which ungulates feed on at this time of year, inaccessible. Therefore, they are forced to move to the south, where dry standing grass is more accessible. In summer, drought forces herbivores, and after them predators, to migrate to northern or western regions steppe zone.:.
The herd lifestyle makes it easier to obtain food, especially in winter time When the herd walks in a column, the strongest males are in front, breaking the snow crust with their strong hooves. From these diggings, young members of the herd can easily get grass rags... If the ungulates, with the enormous density of their population, were evenly distributed throughout the entire space of the steppe or prairie, they would eat the entire above-ground mass of plants in a few days, not giving it the opportunity to regrow” (Fate steppes, pp. 43, 75-76, 87-88, 90).
But the ungulates were not distributed evenly throughout the entire steppe; predators prevented this under natural conditions. They forced the herds to constantly move, they forced strong males to be located on the periphery of the herd in order to protect the young, females and weak individuals. They regulated the number of mammals through natural selection.
Before humans, the steppe was in a state of stable homeostasis. As Sergei Balandin figuratively writes, “The steppe, like a good Turkmen carpet, needs to be trampled on” (The Fate of the Steppes, p. 76). The more ungulates trample the steppe, the more grass there is. But the steppe cannot be trampled indefinitely, although the recreational potential of the steppe biome is amazingly great: “the surface of the steppe, compacted by cattle to a state reminiscent of asphalt pavement, already three years after the removal of the grazing load restores its original shape...” (The Fate of the Steppes, p. 134 ).
The appearance of humans made steppe homeostasis less stable for a number of reasons. Steppe cities were created from scratch. The people who settled them did not know how to behave in the steppe,
knew that the skills developed by ancestors in other natural conditions, can do a disservice in a new place. Often the nomads also did not know the new steppe. It seemed to them incomparably richer than their former native places, but they did not know the limits of its capabilities, followed by an environmental crisis or a local environmental disaster.
These boundaries are determined primarily by a general universal pattern: the physical mass of livestock in a completely anthropogenic landscape or the total mass of domestic and wild animals in a not completely anthropogenic landscape cannot exceed the mass of wild ungulates that were here before humans. In addition, to maintain the ecological balance of the steppe biocenosis great importance has the ratio of individual animal species to their total number. From time to time, as was the case in Ryn-Peski in the 19th century. or today's Mongolia, pastoralists fall into the ecological “trap” of excess specific gravity sheep and goats in the total population.
Man protected the weakest ungulates - sheep - from predators. And sheep exert the greatest pressure on the earth, both literally and figuratively. The sheep, unlike large ungulates, moves slowly and tramples the ground thoroughly. In sheep pens, unlike cow pens, you won’t see even a blade of grass. The pressure of small sheep's hooves per unit area is four times higher than the pressure of the tracks of a medium tank (The Fate of the Steppes, p. 164). If large ungulates only bite the grass, then a sheep, according to the popular Buryat expression, “cuts its hair.”
In modern Buryatia, the reduction in the number of sheep immediately resulted in a decrease in the rate of soil degradation (Panarin, p. 100). As evidenced by the study of the environmental disaster in the Volga-Ural interfluve in the 19th-20th centuries, carried out by Igor Ivanov, crisis phenomena there were provoked by a sharp increase in the number of livestock (from 200 thousand to 5 million heads), of which 77% were sheep (Ivanov 1995, p. 181). In the Caspian region, the steppe is preserved at a density of less than 0.7 sheep per hectare, with more than one desert (Miroshnichenko, p. 40). For Kalmykia, the following ratio is accepted: with a population of 300 thousand people, 1 million sheep (69%),
200 thousand horses (13.8%), 200 thousand cows (13.8%), 50 thousand camels (3.4%) (Vinogradov et al., p. 103).
Ecological catastrophy in the Caspian region clearly shows that traditional cattle breeding is not guaranteed against crises, although most often it does not come to a crisis. It’s another matter if the steppe becomes overgrown with cities, attracting nomads with their herds. The same phenomenon is possible here as at watering places, near which nothing grows anymore.
In other words, even medieval urbanization is fraught with a violation of at least the local ecological balance in the steppes. However, the very existence of the Golden Horde - taking into account its borders, the characteristics of climatic zones, the underdevelopment of medieval infrastructure - objectively required local concentration in the steppes - the geographical center of the state, not only the administrative and economic management, but livestock and industry, which placed an additional burden on the steppe biocenosis.

This video lesson is intended for independent familiarization with the topic “Population and economy of forest-steppe and steppe zones.” From the teacher’s lecture you will learn about what natural features are characteristic of the forest-steppe and steppe zones. Discuss how they influence the population and economy of these regions, and how people change and protect them.

Topic: Natural and economic zones of Russia

Lesson: Population and economy of forest-steppe and steppe zones

1. Introduction

Purpose of the lesson: to learn about the features of the nature of steppes and forest-steppes and how they affect the lives and economic activities of people.

2. General information

Natural zones of forest-steppes and steppes are the most developed and modified natural zones in Russia. Forest-steppes and steppes have the most comfortable conditions for human life.

Rice. 1. Map of the comfort of natural conditions

True forest-steppes and steppes can currently be seen only in nature reserves; all other territories have been heavily modified by humans and are used mainly for agriculture due to their fertile soils.

Rice. 2. Rostov Nature Reserve

3. Inhabitants of the steppes. Farm

Representatives of the peoples of the steppe zone - steppe dwellers - led a nomadic lifestyle and were engaged in cattle breeding. The steppe peoples include Kalmyks, Tuvans, Kazakhs, Buryats, Kazakhs and others.

Steppes are open flat or hilly landscapes where grasses, grains, and flowers grow.

Rice. 3. Steppe

In the steppes and forest-steppes, people are actively involved in animal husbandry and agriculture. In the steppes they raise goats and sheep, horses and camels, and cattle. Some farms raise fish, fur-bearing animals, and poultry.

Rice. 4. Poultry farming

Rice. 5. A flock of sheep in the steppe

On the Yule of the Urals Orenburg region famous goats are bred, their wool is so thin that an Orenburg scarf knitted from this wool can be threaded into wedding ring. Actually, this is how some people check the authenticity of the Orenburg scarf.

In Buryatia and the foothills of the Caucasus, yaks are bred.

One of the main problems of steppes and forest-steppes is overgrazing. Animals eat only certain plants, which in turn disappear. In addition, overgrazing causes the vegetation to be trampled.

In the northern part of the steppes and forest-steppes they engage in farming. Steppes and forest-steppes are the main breadbaskets of Russia; wheat, corn, sunflowers, sugar beets, vegetables and fruits are grown here. To protect from the wind, shelterbelts are planted along the perimeter of the fields. In some places the steppes are 85% plowed!

Rice. 6. Sunflowers at sunset

4. Violation of steppes and forest-steppes

Due to active economic activity Many steppe species of plants and animals disappear, the soil loses its fertility, and the land is polluted with chemical fertilizers. Also Negative influence to the nature of the steppe and forest-steppe zone mining activities (for example, iron ores, coal), road construction, expansion of cities and towns. Therefore, steppes and forest-steppes need protection. For this purpose, nature reserves and sanctuaries are created, and events are carried out aimed at rational use the nature of these landscapes.

Rice. 7. Reserve "Black Lands"

The traditional dwelling of the peoples of the steppes is the yurt, which is a wooden frame covered with felt.

Homework

Paragraph 36.

1. Give examples of human economic activity in forest-steppes and steppes.

Bibliography

Main

1. Geography of Russia: Textbook. for 8-9 grades. general education institutions / Ed. A.I. Alekseeva: In 2 books. Book 1: Nature and population. 8th grade - 4th ed., stereotype. - M.: Bustard, 2009. - 320 p.

2. Geography of Russia. Nature. 8th grade: textbook. for general education institutions/ I. I. Barinova. - M.: Bustard; Moscow textbooks, 2011. - 303 p.

3. Geography. 8th grade: atlas. - 4th ed., stereotype. - M.: Bustard, DIK, 2013. - 48 p.

4. Geography. Russia. Nature and population. 8th grade: atlas - 7th ed., revision. - M.: Bustard; Publishing house DIK, 2010 - 56 p.

Encyclopedias, dictionaries, reference books and statistical collections

1. Geography. Modern illustrated encyclopedia / A. P. Gorkin - M.: Rosman-Press, 2006. - 624 p.

Literature for preparing for the State Exam and the Unified State Exam

1. Thematic control. Geography. Nature of Russia. 8th grade: tutorial. - Moscow: Intellect-Center, 2010. - 144 p.

2. Tests on Russian geography: grades 8-9: textbooks, ed. V. P. Dronova “Geography of Russia. 8-9 grades: textbook. for general education institutions”/ V. I. Evdokimov. - M.: Publishing house "Exam", 2009. - 109 p.

Mongolia is a country with one of the lowest population densities in the world. Less than three million people live in an area the size of two Frances, a million of whom live in the capital.

So it turns out that you can drive around Mongolia for a very long time in any direction, and only occasionally come across small clusters of whitening yurts along the way. Two-thirds of the population live in the steppe and lead a nomadic lifestyle, regularly moving to a new place in search of pastures for livestock.

Cattle breeding, whatever one may say, is a key activity for the steppe inhabitants - it provides them with meat, milk (from which, by the way, they have learned to cook a lot), wool, and skins. Usually one family has different types animals - it could be a herd of sheep and goats, a pen with cows and calves, several horses.

The first time we found ourselves visiting a Mongolian family, in a yurt, was at the beginning of our trip, thanks to the people who gave us a lift and were on their way to see their friends. At that time, we had little idea of ​​how nomadic people lived, what their life was like, and what a real yurt looked like from the inside.

No matter how trivial it may sound, their way of life has remained virtually unchanged since ancient times, and even more so since the reign of Genghis Khan. But nevertheless, civilization has reached here - there is an energy-saving light bulb, a TV with a satellite dish, a motorcycle or a truck in almost every yurt.

Horses as transport are still very relevant, because in many places there is nothing else to drive, and it is convenient to herd the herd. The riders we met did not use saddles. But this is somehow dashing

We were lucky to see the process of assembling a yurt for moving to a new place literally in the very first family we found ourselves with. In the evening everything was still in place, no fuss or getting ready. But in the morning, within two hours, a well-coordinated family team completely dismantled the yurt and put it in the back of a truck along with all its belongings.

There are different sizes of yurts - divided by number components walls (we saw from 4 to 6). You can collect more if you want.

The basic furnishings in all yurts are the same - in the center there is a stove with a chimney and a table, along the walls there are beds, most often two. There are also additional beds on the floor, because often a large family lives in one yurt, and everyone needs to fit in.

Many of the cabinets are the same, probably a traditional design.

The floor is partially or completely covered with pieces of linoleum or carpet, sometimes just dirt in parts. In yurts they don’t take off their shoes; they wear street shoes.

Be sure to have a cabinet or wall with photographs of all relatives, children, and grandchildren. Images of the Dalai Lama are also quite common :)

The doors are low, they banged their heads several times. There are no locks, not even latches, only if the yurt is located near a city or village.

You either make a yurt yourself or buy it. Translated into rubles, its cost is about 40,000.

They live, as mentioned above, by livestock farming, selling meat and dairy products. Men tend herds of sheep, cows, yaks, goats or horses. Often the animals graze on their own, and in the evening they are herded to the yurts, where they sleep.

There are small pens in which calves or foals are kept, and mothers are brought to them in the morning and evening to feed the young. After the child has eaten, the remaining milk is milked.

Women also have something to do:) They make cheese, kefir, sour cream, and butter from milk.

In each yurt we saw several basins full of milk at one or another stage of its preparation.

Meat is not prepared in large quantities; more than one carcass is not kept in a yurt.

Smoke over the stove:

Men in the steppe often wear national clothes - over jeans and a T-shirt. It’s comfortable – it doesn’t blow, you can put everything you need in your bosom, and you’ve probably gotten used to it. We saw men different ages in such clothes, so these are not relics of the older generation :)

Women also wear them, but less often. Although a woman's dress has at least one important practical advantage - you can go to the toilet in the steppe anywhere. There are no bushes!

Each family keeps several dogs, which must protect them from strangers (this is unlikely, given the lack of castles), and from wolves (quite real threat, sheep are periodically dragged). All the dogs we met barked very loudly, but when we met them they turned out to be very cute creatures :)

They don’t like cats, they practically don’t even have cats in the city. We once saw, in a yurt, a cute, well-fed cat with very smooth fur. Of course, so much milk!

The people are very hospitable, you can calmly enter any yurt if something happens, or you just need to ask something. They will help you in any way they can and give you some tea.

By the way, their tea is completely different - milk, a little bit of shavings and salt. Drink it hot.

Since I still don’t like milk, Roma gets two servings. They also drink kumiss, which tastes like milk kvass. For a snack – bread and butter, sprinkled with sugar! As in childhood

Every yurt has artz - dried salty homemade cottage cheese. It whitens teeth very well! They also make a sweet one - arold. In the first yurt we were given a bag of artza and a large jar of homemade butter - we ate it for two weeks :)

There is also this thing - they remove the top from the basin in which sour cream is made and fold it in half. They eat it with bread.

From what we had a chance to try - sweet milk rice (my portion went to Roma), soup from horns with meat (the horns are for me, the meat is not for me :), homemade noodles with meat (similar).

We heard that Mongolians drink a lot. We drank moonshine vodka only once - in the evening in the yurt, in family circle in very moderate quantities. They prepare it themselves from milk and drink it warm.

In our understanding, there were no plates either, they eat from high saucers, and they drink tea from them.

Many products are from Russia and Ukraine - familiar labels are found everywhere - Yanta, Alenka, Zolotaya Smechka.

Few people know Russian, even the older generation. That is, meeting a person who speaks Russian is quite possible, but most likely it will not be the first person you meet, and not even the second.

In general, at first Roma was very freaked out that no one understood him. This was his first time abroad, he had not yet learned sign language, and he sincerely tried to speak to them in Russian, slowing down the pace of his speech and pronouncing the words clearly (well, so that it would be clearer for them)

Apparently his desire was so great that suddenly, quite by chance, we began to meet people who understood our language and spoke it. Almost everyone who gave us a lift, with whom we stayed, whom we met - Mongols, Poles, French, Americans - everyone could more or less clearly express themselves in the great and powerful

I would also like to say something about children. Firstly, they give birth to at least two or three, often more. It's good to be a child in Mongolia!

He has his own steppe, his own horse, his own animals. He is not forced to wash his hands before eating, he is not scolded for torn pants or spilled sugar, no “Don’t go there, you’ll fall, Don’t go there, you’ll run him over.” He can do whatever he wants. He spends his days running around the steppe, riding a bicycle, chasing sheep back and forth.

No stress, hassle or pain ( good immunity, not spoiled by drugs).

Simple, happy people who don’t bother with conventions and don’t sweat the small stuff. They don't need roads or internet, they have everything they need.

Traveling through the Mongolian steppe is a great place and an original way to reassess your values ​​and dispel stereotypes imposed by society. We loved it and recommend it to everyone!

How do they live in the steppes? Why do people live in the steppes? Can pastoralists live sedentary lives? Which nomadic peoples You know? What kind of home does a nomad need? What is its functionality? What material is easy for a cattle breeder to build a house from? Is furniture needed in such a house? The inhabitants of the steppes create their home from sheep's wool. Felt is made from it and carpets are made to turn them into warm walls. Such a house is called a yurt. A felt blanket is used to cover a light frame of knitted, accordion-stretched wooden bars and long thin poles forming a vault. Wooden parts are precious, they are protected and when transported they are packed in elegant felt cases. The yurt can be assembled in just one hour and transported on one camel. The yurt is decorated with ornaments... In the center of the yurt there is a fireplace, at the top there is a chimney, through which you can see the sky. The door faces south. Why do they decorate a yurt? What do the ornaments decorating the yurt mean? The entire nomadic settlement was a strictly organized space. This is a circle divided by rays of roads-streets, with the main large yurt in the center. The main entrance to the settlement is from the south. Kyrgyz yurt. N. Roerich. Mongolia. Yurts.

Slide 13 from the presentation "Peoples of the mountains and steppes". The size of the archive with the presentation is 11898 KB.

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The steppe is a flat landscape zone located in temperate and subtropical zones Northern and Southern Hemisphere. Steppes are common on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica.

Unfortunately, this view natural landscape gradually disappearing from the face of the earth. There are many reasons: plowing of the land, poaching, intensive grazing, fires.

General characteristics of the steppe

It is practically typical for steppes complete absence trees. The exceptions are artificial plantings along paved roads and forest belts near water bodies. But it grows in the steppe a large number of herbaceous plants and shrubs.

However, it is worth remembering that a flat treeless area with humid climate is no longer a steppe. This is a zone of swampy meadows, and in the north, under such conditions, tundras are formed.

Natural areas of the steppes

Stepnaya natural area located between forest-steppe and semi-desert. The steppe is a treeless space completely covered with grass. The grasses form an almost closed carpet.

Steppe plants are distinguished by their ability to tolerate drought and heat. As a rule, the leaves of steppe plants are small, grayish or bluish-green. Many plants have the ability to curl up their leaves during drought to prevent evaporation.

Since the steppes occupy vast areas, plant species are very diverse. First of all, forage plants are of great importance for humans: clover, alfalfa, corn, sunflower, Jerusalem artichoke. Beets, potatoes, as well as grains: oats, barley, millet.

Among steppe plants there are also medicinal herbs and honey plants.

Animals of the steppes are not much different from the fauna of deserts and semi-deserts. They also have to adapt to hot summers and frosty winters. The most common ungulates are antelopes and saigas, and the most common predators are foxes, wolves and manulas. There are many rodents (gophers, jerboas, marmots), reptiles and insects. Among steppe birds Commonly encountered are steppe eagles, bustards, larks, and harriers. Most bird species fly to warmer climes in winter.

Many steppe animals and birds are on the verge of extinction and are listed in the Red Book.

Types of steppes

Types of steppes are distinguished depending on the ratio of cereals and herbaceous plants.

. Mountain- characterized by lush forbs. An example is the mountain steppes of the Caucasus and Crimea.

. Meadow, or forbs - the largest number of species of steppe plants grow here. Meadow steppes are in contact with forests, and their soils are rich in black soil. Most of the steppes of the European part of Russia and Western Siberia belong to this species.

. Xerophilous- with an abundance of turf grasses, mainly feather grass. This type of steppe is often called feather grass. For example, southern steppes in the Orenburg region.

. Desert, or deserted. There is a lot of wormwood, tumbleweed, twigs and ephemerals here. This is what the once rich, mixed-grass steppes of Kalmykia have become, which as a result of human activity are gradually turning into deserts.

Steppe climate

The main feature of all steppes is aridity. The climate type is from moderate continental to sharply continental. The average annual precipitation rarely exceeds 400 mm. Windy weather prevails in the steppes, and summer is characterized by big amount sunny days. Winters have little snow, but snowstorms and blizzards are frequent.

Another feature of the steppes is the sharp difference in day and night temperatures, since at night the temperature can drop by 15-20ºC. These conditions make steppes similar to deserts.

They often visit the steppes dust storms, which affect soil erosion and lead to the formation of beams and ravines.

Soils of temperate steppes climatic zone are very fertile and are actively used in agriculture. The basis is black soil, only closer to the southern latitudes chestnut soils are found.

IN different countries the steppes have their own name. In Australia and Africa it is savanna, in South America- llanos and pampas, or pampas, in North America- prairies, and in New Zealand - tussoki.

In Europe, steppes have been preserved mainly in protected areas. But in Siberia there are still virgin steppes - Kuraiskaya, Chuiskaya.

For 1 sq. km of steppe space inhabits more insects than people all over the world.

The largest birds live in the steppes. In Russia there are bustards, and in Africa there are ostriches.